


Percy Jackson and the Scrutiny of his Coworkers

by pqrker



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Adult Percy Jackson, Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Camp Jupiter (Percy Jackson), F/M, Gen, I wish I was kidding, Marine Biologist Percy Jackson, Marine Biology, Minor Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, New Rome (Percy Jackson), No I dont, POV Outsider, Percy Jackson References, Percy Jackson is a Dork, Percy Jackson is a Mess, do i know what im doing?, i have no idea how marine biology labs work, im bullshitting through this entire thing, my mom made me write this, percabeth, percy has been banned from every seaworld on earth, percy spins the beads on his necklace because i do the same thing, theyre all grown up <3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-16 09:00:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29204748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pqrker/pseuds/pqrker
Summary: Jim turned back to the tank and looked at Marcie the seal, who was now staring at the spot his coworker had been standing just moments before with that same strange look of reverence in her eyes.Percy Jackson truly was the oddest person Jim Elpool had ever worked with.or5 times percy's coworkers were confounded by his fish magic, plus 1 time they try to figure it out
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Percy Jackson & Original Character(s)
Comments: 31
Kudos: 185





	1. Local Seal Misses Her Boyfriend and Owes Her Sister a Lunch Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> word count: 850  
> howdy, my name is parkington but you can call me parker, and i'm the author of this fic. i am so sorry for the dumbassery i am about to inflict upon you  
> also, the entire pool area description is based off the memorial university of newfoundland's seal facility so if it's inaccurate then blame them
> 
> (chapter based off that one tumblr post)

A series of pitiful chirps and trills echoed around the area, coupled with the sound of softly splashing water from the pool at the far end of the deck. 

A man stood at the side of the pool, watching the young harbor seal swim idly in circles, its cries continuing as it spiralled. His lips were pressed into a thin line and dark brown eyebrows knit together in confusion as he stared on at the animal.

The seal had been crying by itself for the past two days and very rarely stopping. Whether it be a few sad wimpers or the full blown sob-fest that was going on now, it always seemed to be crying in some way. It cheered up a little whenever one of the staff would come by to feed it or check up on its injuries, but it was very upset the rest of the time.

Jim’s research team had various theories as to what was making it so sad, but none of them had really been able to prove or disprove what they thought thus far.

There was only one person Jim could really think of that would be able to calm it down, but he had no idea where he was or how he would even be able to figure out what was going on-

A distant set of footsteps from behind startled him and stole his attention away from the seal and his own thoughts. He turned his back to the pool and saw the side profile of a familiarly exhausted and brooding face with sea green eyes and a mop of messy black hair passing by the main building's open back door.

Bingo.

“Oy, Jackson! Care to help me with something?”

If anyone on planet Earth could figure out what was wrong with the poor seal, it would be none other than Percy Jackson. Jim had only known the team’s biologist a short while, but the guy was incredible when it came to animal's emotions. As long as it was from under the sea, he could tell you anything and everything about it.

It almost scared Jim how accurate he was sometimes, but he was afraid he would sound a little crazy if he ever admitted to it. 

Percy jogged over to Jim, although his focus seemed to be more on the seal behind him than the person he was supposed to be helping. His brows were furrowed and he had a small frown, like he already knew something was wrong. 

Jim chalked it up to Percy just being smart enough to know that that a seal crying nonstop was, in fact, not good, although he could never really be sure with him.

“What’s up? Is there something wrong with Marcie?” Percy asked, his concern very evident in his voice.

Jim opened his mouth to respond, but hesitated. “Marcie?”

Percy nodded his head towards the seal, who’s crying and circling had stopped and was now staring at him, looking rather awestruck for a seal.

“That’s the seal. Is she okay?” He asked again.

Jim blinked lamely. Apparently Percy also had a thing for naming animals before anyone else could. Go figure.

“Well, she stopped right as you came over, but she’s been crying ever since we rescued her. I know you’ve kinda got a sixth sense when it comes to animals, so I was hoping you could figure out what’s been making her so upset.” He said slowly.

Percy nodded and stepped a little closer to the pool and stared at the seal for maybe 3 seconds before coming to an apparent conclusion. 

“She’s lonely.”

“What? But you didn’t even-”

“I said she’s lonely, Jim.” Percy repeated resolutely, as if that explained everything. 

Jim just stared at him.

“She had a little seal boyfriend or something back home, and she misses him and her friends. She was on her way to lunch with her sister when she got hurt and we picked her up. Probably.” Percy deadpanned.

Jim was confused, to say the least. He knew Percy was smart. He knew Percy was amazing with animals. He also knew that it was physically impossible for Percy to be able to figure out what the seal was feeling that instantaneously. However, Jim didn’t get to point all this out before the man beside him turned and walked back towards the building he had come from.

“I’ve gotta go finish looking over Elaine’s coral photos with her, but let me know if Marcie has any other problems. And maybe see if she’ll get along with one of the other seals, unless you’re a fan of her twenty four-seven crying.” Percy called over his shoulder.

“Um,” Jim said eloquently, “Are you sure?”

“Yep,” Percy replied brightly, popping the P before disappearing back into the building.

Jim turned back to the tank and looked at Marcie the seal, who was now staring at the spot his coworker had been standing just moments before with that same strange look of reverence in her eyes.

Percy Jackson truly was the oddest person Jim Elpool had ever worked with.


	2. *REAL* GOT CAUGHT USING FISH POWERS BY COWORKER (NOT CLICKBAIT)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Melody stared through the tank’s slightly fogged glass and into the water, admittedly a little in awe.
> 
> They had walked in on their coworker playing with the small blue shark some 30 minutes ago in his goggles and wetsuit, that ballpoint pen he was weirdly attached to still somehow in his pocket even as he swam around under the water. His old beaded necklace floated loosely around his neck.
> 
> The strangest thing?
> 
> He didn’t have an oxygen tank on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> words: 721  
> i have no fucking clue how marine biology labs are set up so please bear with me here

Melody Hargrove considered themself a rather smart person.

They were the head researcher at a New York City marine biology lab, got their masters in oceanography and biology at Duke University a year ahead of time, and did it with flying colors, mind you. They were logical and to the point, always there with an explanation or an idea for something. If they didn’t know the answer to a question, they would turn up the next day with encyclopedic knowledge on the topic, the result of long nights tunnel visioning on Wikipedia articles. 

The point is, they knew a lot of things. One of those things was how long the average person could hold their breath while underwater. About a minute and a half, maybe two minutes, depending on the person. The world record was for 24 minutes and 3 seconds. No one had ever surpassed it.

To be honest, Melody didn’t think anyone _could_ surpass it. At least not without causing serious lung issues.

So how the hell had Jackson been under there so long?

Melody stared through the tank’s slightly fogged glass and into the water, admittedly a little in awe.

They had walked in on their coworker playing with the small blue shark some 30 minutes ago in his goggles and wetsuit, that ballpoint pen he was weirdly attached to still somehow in his pocket even as he swam around under the water. His old beaded necklace floated loosely around his neck.

The strangest thing?

He didn’t have an oxygen tank on.

So maybe Percy was a little weird. Melody knew that, as did everyone else at the lab. He could figure out what was up with an animal in a split second and could name them even faster. Hell, he would even make up elaborate backstories for them. Sometimes he’d come into work with long scratches up and down his body while stuffing something that looked like lemon bars into his mouth, muttering angrily in a language that sounded vaguely Greek. Nobody had figured that one out yet.

But that weirdness didn’t explain his sudden gaining of mermaid powers, or whatever else was going on here. 

Actually, what _was_ going on here?

Snapping back to reality, Melody strode forward and tapped their nail against the glass of the tank.

Percy whipped around to face them, startling the shark he had been animatedly playing with as a few bubbles escaped his mouth.

Melody gave him the universal _what the hell?_ sign with her hands and motioned for him to come back up to the surface.

Percy gave a gentle pat to the shark like it was a puppy, and turned and swam up to the top of the tank.

The second he broke the water’s surface, Melody was standing over him despite their drastic height difference, an incredulous look on their face.

“Hey! Merliah Summers! How the fuck did you _do_ that?” Melody exclaimed, offering a hand to help him out.

Percy blinked. “Did you just make a Barbie movie reference?”

“Did you just understand it?”

“Of course I did, I’m not uncultured. Mermaid Tale is a great movie.”

“Good. Now answer me.”

Percy hoisted himself out of the water and rolled one of the beads on his necklace between his thumb and his index finger, which Melody assumed was a nervous habit.

“I… don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Or a lying tell.

Melody raised an eyebrow. “You know, the whole ‘staying underwater for 45 minutes with no oxygen mask’ thing? I’m pretty sure you’re smart enough to know that’s not normal.”

Percy dropped his necklace. It was definitely a lying tell. “Right. That.”

“Well?”

“Well, uh, the thing is, I was coming up for air every 2 minutes or so, so I wasn’t actually- um, yeah. I was breathing. Air. No big deal.” He stammered out.

Melody sighed inwardly. They could tell their coworker was definitely lying and was not going to give up the truth easily, but they saw no reason for him to be making up a story about how he had managed to stay underwater without drowning. Was he just embarrassed about his unusually strong lungs or something?

“Yeah, alright, fine. Just let me know the next time you decide to act like a mermaid, fishboy, so I can accurately time it.” They teased.

Percy’s face broke into a sly grin. “Will do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> melody is so fun to write,, i love them so much


End file.
